Mixing up meanings
“You can tune (为……调音) a piano, but you can’t tune a fish.” Upon reading the sentence, you’re either laughing, scratching your head or rolling your eyes. Welcome to the world of puns (双关语).
A pun is a form of wordplay that uses similar-sounding words or phrases for comic (喜剧的) effect. For example, in the first sentence, the usage of “tune a”. Of course you can’t “tune a” fish, but it’s a clever way of using words in an unexpected way.
People generally either love puns or hate them. They have a long history throughout many cultures of the world, including ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China. In the Western world, the English playwright William Shakespeare is probably the most well-known punster.
“They can be a demonstration of cleverness,” Peter McGraw, the director of the Humor Research Lab at the University of Colorado in the US, told the Atlantic. “To understand the differences of words, you need to rely on a person’s ability to analyse language.”
Puns show us how subjective meaning is and its many layers can be packed into one word, said John Polack, author of The Pun Also Rises (the title itself a pun based on Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises). That’s why Pollack said, “for most of Western history, puns were a sign of high intelligence. They were a tool, and they remain a tool, to pack more meaning into fewer words.”
Puns are widely used throughout popular culture in TV, movies, ad campaigns and marketing. For example, the ice cream company Ben and Jerry’s regularly uses puns in their flavors, such as Americone Dream. The American animated comedy Bob’s Burgers uses puns in every episode (集) from the title sequence (顺序), episode name and Bob’s burgers of the day—like the Poblano peppers named after the artist, Pablo Picasso) or Eggers Can’t Be Cheesers (an egg burger based on the saying, “Beggars can’t be choosers”).
You can try writing your own puns, but remember, don’t write with a broken pencil because it’s pointless.
12. Why does the author include a pun at the beginning of the text?
A.To describe people’s reactions to puns. |
B.To introduce the history of puns. |
C.To explain why puns are popular with people. |
D.To help introduce the topic of the text. |
13. What can we conclude from Peter McGraw’s words?
A.Puns are not suitable for daily use. |
B.Puns are presented in complex forms. |
C.Puns make use of different meanings of words. |
D.Puns are popular with clever people. |
14. What is the second-to-last paragraph mainly about?
A.The popularity of puns. | B.The characteristics of puns. |
C.Different types of puns. | D.Different ways of using puns. |
15. In the last paragraph, the author wants to
.
A.offer suggestions | B.show comic effect |
C.ask for advice | D.give a warning |